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William Wisp had never been popular. William Wisp had never been cool. He had never been in a relationship. He never had any friends. He never did sports or was in any clubs. He always ate lunch alone in the courtyard reading some sort of mystery novel underneath a tree.
He never went to any parties. He never drank or did drugs. He always got to class and turned in his homework on time. Teachers would often keep him longer and try to encourage him to make friends and socialize. He was bullied, thrown around, punched, and screamed at. He didn't know why.
His parents tried to encourage him to get out more. He was pale and had dark circles under his eyes due to his lack of sleep.
He was sad.
William Wisp was sad.
But he had nothing to be sad about. Other people had it so much worse than he did. Some people weren't as fortunate as him. Some people weren't as lucky to have a home, go to school, or have a loving family.
But thinking about that only made William feel worse.
On Thursday, it was raining. William liked the rain. It gave him a reason to stay inside and just think.
He walked through the door and took off his shoes and coat.
"William!" His mother called from the kitchen. "Honey, you're soaked!"
William shrugged. "I'll dry off."
She grabbed a towel from the closet and started ruffling his hair in an attempt to dry it.
"Mom," he whined, ducking away. He wished he could go invisible. He wished he could get away and just... phase through the wall. And disappear. But he appreciated that his mom cared about him. He relished it no matter how much he avoided telling her.
"I'm just trying to make sure you don't get sick, William."
"I'll be fine."
His mom sighed and lowered the towel. "Is everything alright, William?"
William shrugged. "I'm fine."
William Wisp was not fine. All day, he was thrown around. His exam was ripped up. The excellent grade that he wanted to show his mom. They took out the insoles in his shoes and threw them in the fountain and William was limping all day. It was humiliating.
His mother looked down. "Your shoes are soaked, too. Here, I'll throw them in the dryer. Oh- Where is your support?"
"It fell out while I was walking home," William lied. "I'll just use the ones from my boots."
She looked at him and then back at the shoe. "Will...Are you sure everything is okay? You know, we can get you back on the meds if you think it'll help."
William shook his head, staying quiet as he walked away. He walked up the stairs and into his room, locking the door behind him. He threw his bag onto the ground and sat next to it, pulling his knees close to his chest. What was wrong with him? Why did he feel like this?
"William..."
He looked up. There was a small blue light outside his window.
"William..."
He stood and opened the window. Its tiny arms gestured for him to follow it. Was he going crazy? It had eye sockets but looked soulless like its only purpose was to attract William. He stuck his hand out the window. At first, the small light was cold to the touch. And then it burned him. He pulled his hand back.
It called to him. It taunted him.
"William..."
"What do you want?"
"William..."
He began to feel dizzy. Then the dizziness turned to nausea. He needed to find out how to end this. He quickly ran down the stairs and slipped his boots on.
"William?" His mother called. "Where are you going?"
He didn't answer. He opened the door, immediately feeling the water on his face.
"William Wisp, your mother asked you a question," he heard his father say.
The small blue light was suddenly right in front of him. It grabbed him, burning and freezing him all at the same time. It pulled him into the streets of Deadwood, dragging him onto the sidewalk. It went faster. He was running. Sprinting.
He was now in the woods, now surrounded by the small blue lights in the trees. If he wasn't crazy five minutes ago, he was now. He looked up at the sky as it turned black.
One of the small blue lights was suddenly right in front of him. He put his hands out and held them. It looked... Alive. It was close to his face. He could feel the heat and the chill on his nose as it looked him in the eyes with empty divots in its face.
"What do you want from me?"
"William..." The voice said again. "You... are not happy."
William swallowed thickly.
"The Wisps... They have chosen you."
"The Wisps?"
The voice didn't speak anymore. The 'wisp' in his hand seemed to be tugging at his shirt. He had never been to that side of the woods. He heard it was where a lot of kids had bonfires and did stupid, dangerous things that William couldn't even imagine himself doing.
Suddenly, he was running. The wisp was pulling him with a force strong enough that William lost control of his body. Anxiety pulsed through his veins. He could hardly see and had no idea of his direction. William prayed that this was a dream, that he had actually just fallen asleep on the floor and now his dream was insanity.
But this wasn't a dream.
It was a nightmare.
William was falling. For a moment, he felt alive. The fear had turned into the thrill, and now the thrill was sickening. The wind had been knocked out of his lungs, the blue lights above him fading out of view as he got closer and closer to the ground underneath him. There was no voice. There were no more lights. There was only a feeling he couldn't say no to; darkness.
***
He was ankle-deep in water, the space around him a void of solitude. He looked around. There was nothing.
"William Wisp," a voice said. "How kind of you to join me."
William turned around. The man approaching him had pointy black hair that caused him to appear as though he had horns and chiseled pointed features with a sharp chin and a large, devilish grin. He had dead black eyes and pale and cold skin. He was well kept with a black suit that had swirl, raised felt patterning on it, complete with a red tie. His body shape was jagged and sharp.
"Where am I?"
The man sighed and clicked his tongue. "You are in the spirit realm," he said as if it was completely obvious. "My name is Mallard Conway."
William shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "I... guess you already know who I am."
"I know a lot about you, Mr. Wisp." Mal held out his hand and a small, blue wisp appeared that quickly hovered towards William. "They have seemed to have taken a liking to you."
"I can see that." The wisp was directly in front of his face. It didn't feel the way it did moments ago. It felt warm. Just warm. He cupped the wisp in his hands.
Mal laughed quietly. "You are a whisperer of the spirits."
"Whisperer?"
"Wisps are... stubborn creatures. Mischievous ones they are. They... chose you as their authority."
William lowered his hands and the wisp sat on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mr. Conway, but... Am I dead?"
Mal nodded solemnly. "The wisps will the everything in their power to make a friend, I suppose."
"Were they once alive, too?'
Mal nodded again. "The spirits of those who did not listen to the rules of the world. The spirits of those who made the wrong choices and the only chance they have at redemption is the afterlife."
William looked at the wisp on his shoulder, watching as its light flickered. "Did I... make the wrong choices?"
"The wisps believe you made only the correct choices. They believe that you are what can save them."
"So, what does this mean? Am I... here forever? Is this really what's at the end?"
Mal scoffed. "Goodness, no. You will be sent back to the land of the living. The wisps will get you on your feet and will assist you in everything you need. Just say the word, and they will be there, Whisperer."
"Whisperer..."
"Do you think you're ready?" Mal asked.
William looked at the wisp, then at the man in front of him. "I'm ready."
***
William's eyes fluttered open. He could feel a warm cover over his body and some sort of restraint over his mouth and nose. His back ached. He could hear a soft beeping to his right.
"...William? Honey, come back, I think he's..."
Alive?
"Mom?"
She stood over him, brushing his black bangs out of his face. It was obvious she had been crying and tears pricked at her eyes once again.
"Oh, William... Why didn't you talk to us?"
His brows furrowed. He could tell he was in a hospital. He remembered falling. He remembered his meeting with Mal. He remembered the wisps.
The wisps.
"I'm sorry we didn't realize sooner, William. We'll get you help, okay? I promise. Just... never leave us like that again."
"You thought I killed myself?" William blurted.
He didn't exactly mean to yell it, it just came out. He could feel the IV in his arm and the beeping got slightly faster.
"Well... You left home abruptly and didn't come home for days... We found you under the cliff at the edge of Deadwood, near Rockfall. Will, you scared the shit out of us!"
William heard footsteps and then a woman's voice. "Mrs. Wisp, I was hoping that we could have a conversation outside while we bring another patient in."
His mother turned and nodded before placing a kiss on William's forehead. She followed the doctor out.
William managed to sit up, his spine popping with each movement. He let out a long sigh as he rested his back against the stiff pillow behind him.
Another patient was being wheeled into the room. He seemed to be conscious and very talkative. The nurse adjusted the bed he was on and asked him if he needed anything, then she walked out.
The boy seemed to be a teenager with medium-length, bright raspberry-red hair, and he had bright yellowish-amber eyes. He turned to William with a bright smile. How was he not tired?
"What're you in for?" The boy joked.
William shrugged, picking up the water bottle that was next to his bed and taking a drink. "I fell."
The boy nodded. "What's your name?"
"William."
"I'm Dakota!"
William noticed the small blue light that hovered over the top of Dakota's head. He shook his head violently, trying to convince it to leave.
Dakota noticed this. "Are you okay?"
William looked back at him. "Yeah... I'm fine. Uh, what happened to you?"
"I just got out of emergency surgery." His smile quickly faded. "Uh... I hope that girl's surgery went okay. Nurse?" He called. The woman walked back in.
"Everything alright?"
"The girl. What happened to her?"
While William couldn't make out exactly what the nurse was saying, he could tell it must've been heartbreaking. Dakota's expression turned dark and William could see dark energy emitting from him. The nurse patted him on the shoulder before leaving the room.
A wisp floated around the room. It almost seemed to... feed off of the dark energy in the room. It rested at the foot of Dakota's bed, looking at him intensely. But he couldn't see it.
Dakota perked up when he heard a man speaking outside. William, on the other hand, was shaken. It didn't sound like his dad or anyone he knew. His voice seemed... forcefully enthusiastic. William could see the nurse gesture inside the room.
Dakota's eyes lit up when he saw the man in front of him. William didn't exactly recognize him until he met his eyes.
Tide. The water hero.
Behind him was a tall, lanky boy, wearing a full tracksuit with purple stripes and a pair of regular sneakers. He had short dark purple hair and silver eyes. He was wearing headphones and was standing very close to the man. He seemed to be shaking.
The man had dark skin and dreadlocks that fell over his shoulders. He wore a blue business suit with shiny, black shoes.
"William Wisp, Dakota Cole. My name is Tide. We have a lot to talk about."